Many of SSFP’s anniversary projects launched in 2017, and will continue to grow, overlap and connect in its anniversary year. The plan for 2018 is an enhanced focus on science, environment, art and history, Kilgore said.

Many ongoing projects allow student reporters to explore Wisconsin and strengthen the organization’s community connections, Kilgore said. These projects include “Wisconsin Free Press,” “The Science of Wisconsin’s Environment” and “Where in Wisconsin is SSFP?”

For “The Science of Wisconsin’s Environment,” student reporters spent the spring and summer of 2017 studying Wisconsin’s ecosystems and natural resources, working as interns with Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Dane County’s Department of Land and Water Resources and local media outlets.

Student reporters also spent time going on trips, interviewing conservationists and going to expert panels. They will publish their work throughout SSFP’s anniversary year, Kilgore said.

Another project, “Rock Your Reading Scores,” focuses on improving individual reading scores. “Rock Your Reading Scores,” is a two-year partnership between SSFP and New York Life Foundation, which aims to develop students’ reading skills during the transition between middle school and high school.

The project tracks smaller groups of students’ individual reading scores from five south Madison middle schools over seven semesters.

To improve scores, students will work on close reading skills with high school and college editors, which starts by practicing reading their sources and articles out loud and going through concepts or words they do not understand, Kilgore said.

Over the past 25 years, Simpson Street Free Press has grown so much that it has an extensive wait list, and has moved from print to online to help get as many students involved as possible. Now, SSFP has 75 students publishing in both Spanish and English, Kilgore said.

When considering all the organization’s changes, what has stayed the same over the past 25 years is SSFP’s innovation.

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BySimpson Street Free Press |September 27, 2018

One hot day this summer, Deney, Sarah, Josepha, drove all the way from the Free Press newsroom off West Broadway to Appleton, Wisconsin, ready to learn about space and geology. We embarked on this journey to attend the annual Wisconsin Space Grant Conference, titled “Uncharted Lands: Geology and Space.” While we were in the city, we visited the Weis Earth Science Museum to learn about fossils, rocks, and minerals.